"They were concerned for the safety of the youth because they had been getting cell phone calls from youth saying that the roads were fairly hazardous and they were concerned for their children's safety," he said.

Call me old-fashioned, but I don't think youths should be having children.

In high school I was on a charter bus that was being driven by someone who wasn't approved for commercial driving outside of New York (this was a trip back to Virginia) whose bus apparently wouldn't have passed inspection which it was already overdue for by a week. We had 2 tires blow out when we barely got out of NYC and spent 8 hours at a sheriff's station. I don't think anyone, even the the most immature of 9th graders on that trip, "freaked out" enough to want to call their parents. We just had one chaperone jump start a phone tree while we all hung out in the drunk tank reading Seventeen Magazine.

I have to remind myself to stop doing things for my 5 year old. It's hard not to want to intervene when he has a problem.Field trips are uncomfortable at first, but then I remember how much fun it was to be "bad" when I used to go on field trips without my parents. I don't want to take that away from him. Also, the odds of something fatal happening to him are probably lower than something happening to me, so I just tell him to have fun. It's not like I own the little guy.

Master Sphincter:I have to remind myself to stop doing things for my 5 year old. It's hard not to want to intervene when he has a problem.Field trips are uncomfortable at first, but then I remember how much fun it was to be "bad" when I used to go on field trips without my parents. I don't want to take that away from him. Also, the odds of something fatal happening to him are probably lower than something happening to me, so I just tell him to have fun. It's not like I own the little guy.

Actually you do own him. Or at least my parents used to tell me that they owned me until I was financially responsible for myself and I would do what they said, or else. They also used to tell me that they owned me and could sell me to the gypsies if I didn't behave.They were always going to sell me to the gypsies. That worked until I was about 8 years old and started thinking that the gypsies were probably very nice people and I would live a happy (but dirty) life with them in their covered wagon.

Yes - the over-reaction of a few helicopter parents is an indictment of the entire nation.

Nice typing, by the way. I'm assuming you're fat-fingered (morbidly obese) and eating with one hand - being a yank & all.

Man it's cool Henry, I think he was just bein' facetious!

What a silly story though. A bunch of kids panic because they don't think they're safe. I think I remember some kids back in my youth that were like that. I'm thankful kids like that didn't have cell phones back then.

GalFriday:Master Sphincter: I have to remind myself to stop doing things for my 5 year old. It's hard not to want to intervene when he has a problem.Field trips are uncomfortable at first, but then I remember how much fun it was to be "bad" when I used to go on field trips without my parents. I don't want to take that away from him. Also, the odds of something fatal happening to him are probably lower than something happening to me, so I just tell him to have fun. It's not like I own the little guy.

Actually you do own him.

I tell myself that I am just helping him get fat enough, strong enough and not so-stupid enough to repeat the cycle of life.

You have a generation of parents that were taught to fear everything. Who relied on parents protecting them from everything from a scraped knee because they were running on a playground surface that was to hard, to every passing car in their neihgborhood being a deviant sexual predator.And now they are raising another generation of frighten humans.This isn't a Canadian problem. Its happening everywhere.

SMB2811:Parents have become complete farking retards. Having kids imparts some mental deficiency now. Calling 911 because of some snow in Canada? Congratulations, you've hit a new low in idiocy.

Parents, remember how when you were a kid your parents didn't do this shiat? See how you're still alive? That's not because of some extraordinary luck on your part.

Hello, parent here. [adjusts pants on head]

I, for one, would have at least asked my kid "Well, have you talked to the bus driver and chaperones about it?" before freaking the fark out and calling the cops. In my family we calmly confront the person we have a problem with and work it out right away to prevent it from escalating into a big passive-aggressive mess.

/Although, to be honest, my kids probably would have found the situation cool and adventurous, and started calling each other ancient Norse names and pretending they were embarking on some epic quest into a fantastical icy landscape instead of sending me panicky text messages in the first place.

8Fingers:You have a generation of parents that were taught to fear everything. Who relied on parents protecting them from everything from a scraped knee because they were running on a playground surface that was to hard, to every passing car in their neihgborhood being a deviant sexual predator.And now they are raising another generation of frighten humans.This isn't a Canadian problem. Its happening everywhere.

HortusMatris:SMB2811: Parents have become complete farking retards. Having kids imparts some mental deficiency now. Calling 911 because of some snow in Canada? Congratulations, you've hit a new low in idiocy.

Parents, remember how when you were a kid your parents didn't do this shiat? See how you're still alive? That's not because of some extraordinary luck on your part.

Hello, parent here. [adjusts pants on head]

I, for one, would have at least asked my kid "Well, have you talked to the bus driver and chaperones about it?" before freaking the fark out and calling the cops. In my family we calmly confront the person we have a problem with and work it out right away to prevent it from escalating into a big passive-aggressive mess.

/Although, to be honest, my kids probably would have found the situation cool and adventurous, and started calling each other ancient Norse names and pretending they were embarking on some epic quest into a fantastical icy landscape instead of sending me panicky text messages in the first place.

GalFriday:Master Sphincter: I have to remind myself to stop doing things for my 5 year old. It's hard not to want to intervene when he has a problem.Field trips are uncomfortable at first, but then I remember how much fun it was to be "bad" when I used to go on field trips without my parents. I don't want to take that away from him. Also, the odds of something fatal happening to him are probably lower than something happening to me, so I just tell him to have fun. It's not like I own the little guy.

Actually you do own him. Or at least my parents used to tell me that they owned me until I was financially responsible for myself and I would do what they said, or else. They also used to tell me that they owned me and could sell me to the gypsies if I didn't behave.They were always going to sell me to the gypsies. That worked until I was about 8 years old and started thinking that the gypsies were probably very nice people and I would live a happy (but dirty) life with them in their covered wagon.

HortusMatris:8Fingers: You have a generation of parents that were taught to fear everything. Who relied on parents protecting them from everything from a scraped knee because they were running on a playground surface that was to hard, to every passing car in their neihgborhood being a deviant sexual predator.And now they are raising another generation of frighten humans.This isn't a Canadian problem. Its happening everywhere.

Abe wasn't afraid of the cloud. He was just pissed at it for no good reason other than that it was there. That generation would have kicked the clouds ass! Not cower in fear of it.